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Video: GoPro Debuts Fusion 5.2K Spherical Camera

Stephen YagielowiczApr 20, 2017 11:34 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES — The prospect of flexible, high-quality, virtual reality porn production and beyond, all at a hoped-for amateur-friendly price point, took a huge step forward today with GoPro’s revelation of its upcoming Fusion spherical camera.

According to Jess Foley, GoPro Senior Product Manager of Spherical Solutions, Fusion distills the best of GoPro — quality, mountability and durability — into a pocketable product intended to wow professional customers by being the ultimate capture device for fully immersive virtual reality content, non-VR video, and even photos, capturing both 5.2K30 video and photos in a full spherical format.

“Imagine never having to worry about framing your subject…ever. Yes, cameras do the heavy lifting already, but it still takes the eye to compose a shot, right?” asks Foley. “Well, thanks to Fusion, our users will be able to record their moments in all directions and then go back and choose the composition they want.”

Foley says this is referred to as OverCapture or reframing.

“It’s like having a camera team with you when you shoot capturing your primary and b-roll footage,” Foley explains. “From there, you have the flexibility in post-production to pick and share all sides of your story in conventional HD.”

GoPro notes OverCapture gives content creators the flexibility to produce conventional non-VR video and photos in HD-quality “punched out” from the spherically captured angles, ensuring that traditional content creators will get the shot, while also capturing the unexpected.

“Fusion is just that, the ability to capture every angle simultaneously… as though you had six GoPro cameras fused into one,” said GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman. “Whether filming for VR or traditional fixed-perspective content, Fusion represents the state-of-the-art in versatile spherical capture.”

The GoPro Fusion is compatible with a broad range of GoPro mounts and accessories and is expected to roll-out this summer as a pilot program, with “a limited commercial release” expected by the end of 2017. Price and specifications for the new device have yet to be announced.